Wage negotiations between Postbank and union Verdi have failed. The union has threatened to hold a ballot on indefinite strikes and plans another round of negotiations before proceeding with strike action.
V-Bank, Germany’s largest custodian bank for independent wealth managers, became victim of a professional cyberattack resulting in theft of customer data. The bank confirmed no funds were compromised.
Boards of Volksbank and cooperative banks have voted to grant their support fund (Sicherungseinrichtung) greater authority to detect and respond to problems at member banks more quickly, addressing a rise in recent bank rescues within the cooperative banking sector.
A comparison of interest rates on savings accounts (Tagesgeld) shows that Sparkassen and Volksbanken offer significantly lower rates than larger national banks. With anticipated ECB interest rate hikes, the article suggests some customers may see improved returns on their savings.
Degussa, a German gold trader, unexpectedly announced the departure of its entire management team, including CEO Christian Rauch and CFO Mark Sommer, without providing reasons for the exits.
The CEO of LBBW, one of Germany’s largest real estate banks, predicts a prolonged downturn in the real estate market. While there were initial signs of recovery four years after the interest rate crisis, geopolitical developments (Iran conflict) have complicated the outlook.
A group of high-profile private credit firms led by Arcmont and Ares have provided a €1.1 billion loan to French business software firm Cegid, demonstrating confidence in the software sector despite recent AI-induced market volatility.
A break-in at Sparkasse Gelsenkirchen’s vault room occurred in late December. Ten customers have filed lawsuits seeking compensation exceeding one million euros for their losses. Legal proceedings are set to begin on Thursday, with questions raised about whether the bank’s security systems were outdated.
Freedom Holding, owned by a Kazakh billionaire, has submitted an application for a French banking licence as it seeks to establish a European digital bank. This move comes while the company faces examination by the US Securities and Exchange Commission regarding potential enforcement action.
Sparkasse CEO Dirk Abel faces scrutiny over questionable travel expenses involving €12,000 in cash payments for Maldives flights purchased through intermediaries using third-party loyalty miles, raising corporate governance concerns.